It's all systems go for UH's Herman on national signing day

1of 3New UH football coach Tom Herman gives a thumbs-up to Adrian Mayes, director for recruiting, after signing the last two of 21 recruits in his first class Wednesday.Photo: Karen Warren, Staff

2of 3UH coach Tom Herman adds Tyrell Thompson's name to the list of signed players. Thompson, a defensive end from Copperas Cove, was among 21 recruits committing to the Cougars on national signing day.Photo: Karen Warren, Staff

3of 3Major Applewhite, UH's offensive coordinator/quarterbacks, recaps on a webcast the Cougars' progress on the biggest day of the recruiting year.Photo: Karen Warren, Staff

Tom Herman's first national signing day with the University of Houston began at 4:45 a.m. Wednesday.

More than two hours before recruits would begin to fax letters of intent, the coach was outside conducting an "earn your way back into the locker room" workout with his current roster in drizzly, 40-degree weather.

For three days, Herman put chains on the locker-room door. He took away equipment and gear.

"We had a few guys that might have decided, for whatever reason, to take advantage of the transition of coaching and try to toe the line a little bit in some areas, whether it be with workouts or classes. We wanted to see who really wanted to be part of the team. We didn't have anybody miss. Everybody showed up."

7:03 a.m.

The first letter of intent comes in - from Darius Gilbert, a defensive back from Springhill, La.

7:24 a.m.

Herman arrives, looking relaxed and refreshed for a man still living out of a suitcase less than four weeks officially on the job.

Wearing a crisp, long-sleeved white shirt with a red UH logo, Herman says "hello" in a booming tone as he turns the corner down a hallway.

7:30 a.m.

The UH coaching staff gathers in the team's recruiting war room. Herman goes to a white greaseboard and places a magnetic nameplate as Gilbert's signing becomes official. He raises his arms to loud applause.

"Now get back to work," Herman jokes.

Late push pays off

Throughout the morning, the board will serve as a tracker for the Cougars' 17 newcomers and four mid-year enrollees who will make up Herman's inaugural signing class.

Lauren Dubois, UH assistant athletic director for compliance, checks out each national letter of intent to make sure it has been filled out properly and sends it to the American Athletic Conference office.

In an adjacent hallway, a staffer hands the phone to Herman. It's Eloph.

"Congrats," Herman tells him. "How does it feel to be part of our first class?" This scene will be replayed over and over the next couple of hours as Herman and his staff welcome each member.

Herman goes back into the war room. It's time to put four more names on the board: linebacker Emeke Egbule (North Shore) and offensive linemen William Noble (Leander Rouse), Josh Jones (Bush) and Jarrid Williams (Cedar Hill).

The Cougars made a late push to get the highly coveted Jones, who flipped his commitment from Oklahoma State to UH on Monday. One night, UH sent six coaches to Jones' house.

"He needed to know how important he is to us," Herman said.

8:07 a.m.

A loud applause erupts in the war room with the paperwork confirmed on Lamar's Tyreik Gray, a four-star recruit who is rated the No. 22 running back in the nation by ESPN.

With UH not yet hiring an offensive line coach, Herman was able to designate a 10th member of his staff to help with recruiting, Dallas Blacklock, the director high school relations.

"He had a relationship with that family," Herman said. "He got a foot in the door, and then it was just the relationship. You build it as fast as you can. You sell him on the vision on what the future here at UH will hold for him, but you also sell him on what you've done in the past, which is win a national championship."

Herman left Gray with this nugget.

"Three of the last four running backs I've coached have rushed for over 1,000 yards."

8:10 a.m.

As part of his first signing day at UH, Herman has an athletic department video crew follow him around the entire morning.

"Quiet, please, filming in progress," Herman jokes.

Shortly after, Herman joins host Jeremy Branham on UH's signing day webcast. The Cougars will apply to the NCAA for a waiver for Oregon transfer Chance Allen to play immediately. They will use a tight end in the offense. They will run a 3-4 defensive scheme. Incoming skill players should be in position to help immediately.

Speed dating

Herman acknowledged the difficulty of holding together parts of a class assembled by the previous coaching staff. He told every commitment UH would honor the scholarship offer. He was upfront with others about how they might fit in the new system and that the school "would not be upset" if they looked elsewhere.

With less than three weeks recruiting, Herman and his staff had to work fast.

"Hey, I know you're not even broken up with your girlfriend yet, but I want to speed-date you right now," Herman said.

8:53 a.m.

Linebacker Jordan Milburn (Galveston Ball) becomes official as the list of unaccounted letters of intent begins to dwindle. Over the next 54 minutes, three more are put on the board: wide receiver Terry Mark (Lufkin), defensive end Tyrell Thompson (Copperas Cove) and linebacker D.J. Jenkins (Huntsville).

9:52 a.m.

Herman is making the rounds in the Athletic/Alumni Center when he's called back to the war room. The final fax is in and approved - Kilgore running back Kevrin Justice.

Joseph Duarte has been a sports reporter for the Houston Chronicle since August 1996. He currently covers college athletics, focusing on the University of Houston. Previously, he wrote about the Houston Astros from 1998-2002, Houston Texans from 2002-05 and the Texas Longhorns from 2005-09. He came to the Houston Chronicle as part of an internship through the Sports Journalism Institute in 1995.